KGB

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

What was this? It's mentioned a lot in the series, like Frank and Joe know all about it/them? Was it part of the USSR, or would it be like ISIS today?

[tomswift2002]

The KGB?  During the Cold War was the USSR's most feared spy agency/police force.  They were like the CIA but a lot worse.  Even James Bond in many of his adventures from the 1960's to the 80's featured the KGB. 

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

The KGB?  During the Cold War was the USSR's most feared spy agency/police force.  They were like the CIA but a lot worse.  Even James Bond in many of his adventures from the 1960's to the 80's featured the KGB.

What did they do that was so bad? I mean, not like the CIA, MI5 and MI6 do much that can be talked about.

[tomswift2002]

The Cold War was a very different time that stretched from the end of WWII in 1945 to the fall of the USSR's Iron Curtain in 1991.  Suffice it to say, from what I've read, what went on behind the Iron Curtain stayed there.

In another fictitious story you can get an idea of what the KGB was like.  In "Face Of The Enemy" from Star Trek The Next Generation, we are introduced to the Tal Shiar of the Romulan Empire.  Even though the KGB had been disbanded by the time the episode aired, the writers still based the Tal Shiar on the KGB.  And in the episode even the Romulan military is wary of the Tal Shiar because the had a license to do whatever, as long as the could say that it was for the state.

[SkyWarp]

FYI -  the current leader of Russia (Vladimir Putin) is a former KGB officer.  This partially explains his current cold war tactics around the world (Syria, Kazakhstan, Iran, Crimea, etc.)

[MacGyver]

A great example there of how history affects the modern world.
It was really cool to see the Hardy Boys run up against the KGB at times in the Casefiles. Between that and the FBI and CIA as well and all the real world locations they went to, it helped make the Casefiles series seem more realistic. (Even though the improbability of a 17 and 18 year old doing the stuff Frank and Joe did kinda balances it out on the believeable-ness. )

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

A great example there of how history affects the modern world.
It was really cool to see the Hardy Boys run up against the KGB at times in the Casefiles. Between that and the FBI and CIA as well and all the real world locations they went to, it helped make the Casefiles series seem more realistic. (Even though the improbability of a 17 and 18 year old doing the stuff Frank and Joe did kinda balances it out on the believable-ness. )

Did they ever work with the KGB directly? I'm thinking like in when they were in England with the two kids from the USSR at the time

While attending an international summer school at England's Oxford University, the Hardys learn just how much times have changed. Frank's roommate, Pyotr Zigonev, is the USSR Junior chess champ, and he had become a pawn in an international power play. But just as the boys rally to Zigonev, they discover that the CIA has joined forces with the KGB.

The American and Soviet spy masters are out to foil a master of terrorism, and Frank and Joe and Zigonev are caught in the middle. One false move and they'll lose the ultimate game -- a danger-packed contest played out in the cold gray shadows of Stonehenge.

[VLoneWolf]

The KGB does make a very realistic agency for The Hardy Boys.   The KGB also appears in some of Tom Clancy's books and other media.

[MacGyver]

Did they ever work with the KGB directly? I'm thinking like in when they were in England with the two kids from the USSR at the time

They were in England in #44 Castle Fear- are you thinking of that one, maybe?

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure Frank and Joe worked pretty directly with the KGB in #14 Too Many Traitors. I believe they cut a deal with them on behalf of the Network at the end of the book. (One of my all time favorites of The Hardy Boys Casefiles!)

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

They were in England in #44 Castle Fear- are you thinking of that one, maybe?

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure Frank and Joe worked pretty directly with the KGB in #14 Too Many Traitors. I believe they cut a deal with them on behalf of the Network at the end of the book. (One of my all time favorites of The Hardy Boys Casefiles!)

They also were in England in #43 Strategic Moves, that's the one I'm talking about. Oh yes, I loved that one too! Now if only they'd redo them today...Oh wait, there's fanfic for that.

[MacGyver]

Okay- yeah, that's right. #43 does sound more like it. And yes- there is some fanfiction out there, though I think there are varying levels of quality when it comes to that. (I'm not necessarily knocking fanfic here- but I've read a good bit for various fandoms- some quite good and some kinda bad too.) But yeah- enjoy it. I don't foresee a relaunch to the Casefiles in any official format. The Hardy Boys graphic novels that got titled "New Casefiles" is probably about as close as we'll get. (Even though they weren't really tied in to the Casefiles universe.)

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Okay- yeah, that's right. #43 does sound more like it. And yes- there is some fanfiction out there, though I think there are varying levels of quality when it comes to that. (I'm not necessarily knocking fanfic here- but I've read a good bit for various fandoms- some quite good and some kinda bad too.) But yeah- enjoy it. I don't foresee a relaunch to the Casefiles in any official format. The Hardy Boys graphic novels that got titled "New Casefiles" is probably about as close as we'll get. (Even though they weren't really tied in to the Casefiles universe.)

Yeah, that's true. I'd probably get reported for using real terrorists group names in my fic, I'm sure.